After more or less abandoning the game for a few months i can honestly say that i expected to find a steaming pile of garbage. But thats not what i found.
Now that all of the progression, que time, and lack of build variety issues have been sorted out the game is actually a lot of fun. both in stealth and in loud.

The game used to be dead set on forcing this "limited time and resources" mindset in regards to enemies, ammo and armor, but they've more or less abandoned that.
Adaptive armor exists now which ignores the perma-damage mechanic from taking damage as long as it doesn't break the entire chunk. Armor repair kits also exist, which restore the perma-damage on your current chunk for the non-adaptive armors and can be found naturally spawning, as drops from certain special enemies, or can be farmed en-mass by trading hostages between assault waves.
The enemies assault armor that they get as the game progresses was also weakened significantly since i last played. It used to take half a clip emptied directly into the enemy helmet to kill one enemy on very hard, now it takes a couple of bullets. More than unarmored enemies, and enough to make you pay attention, but not bullet sponge hell.

Additionally the Adrenaline mechanic makes first aid kits and medic bags have a solid use with or without being paired with the relevant perks. Adrenaline takes damage before armor does, meaning if you are leaving and not coming back, eat the medic bag to save your armor while you move. I was very surprised at how effective the tank build was using fortitude and enforcer for a near infinite 30% DR and manipulator to stack first aid and armor repair kits en-mass.

As for ammo, the ammo efficiency of all guns in the game I've used is enough to not need ammo bags provided you're picking up ammo from your teammates kills. (ammo drops are dropped locally for everyone, this isn't "stealing" someone else's ammo)
Ammo bags do have some niche perk uses and let you refill in a safe location but its not necessary as long as your somewhat accurate.

So far my only real complaint is the hit registration and bloom of most weapons. hip fire is more or less impossible to predict after the first shot, and aiming with most sights gives you a blurry half rendered mess of a reticle. Also i swear I've seen my bullet tracers go through enemies heads with no hit registered on multiple occasions.

After more or less abandoning the game for a few months i can honestly say that i expected to find a steaming pile of garbage. But thats not what i found. Now that all of the progression, que time, and lack of build variety issues have been sorted out the game is actually a lot of fun. both in stealth and in loud. The game used to be dead set on forcing this "limited time and resources" mindset in regards to enemies, ammo and armor, but they've more or less abandoned that. Adaptive armor exists now which ignores the perma-damage mechanic from taking damage as long as it doesn't break the entire chunk. Armor repair kits also exist, which restore the perma-damage on your current chunk for the non-adaptive armors and can be found naturally spawning, as drops from certain special enemies, or can be farmed en-mass by trading hostages between assault waves. The enemies assault armor that they get as the game progresses was also weakened significantly since i last played. It used to take half a clip emptied directly into the enemy helmet to kill one enemy on very hard, now it takes a couple of bullets. More than unarmored enemies, and enough to make you pay attention, but not bullet sponge hell. Additionally the Adrenaline mechanic makes first aid kits and medic bags have a solid use with or without being paired with the relevant perks. Adrenaline takes damage before armor does, meaning if you are leaving and not coming back, eat the medic bag to save your armor while you move. I was very surprised at how effective the tank build was using fortitude and enforcer for a near infinite 30% DR and manipulator to stack first aid and armor repair kits en-mass. As for ammo, the ammo efficiency of all guns in the game I've used is enough to not need ammo bags provided you're picking up ammo from your teammates kills. (ammo drops are dropped locally for everyone, this isn't "stealing" someone else's ammo) Ammo bags do have some niche perk uses and let you refill in a safe location but its not necessary as long as your somewhat accurate. So far my only real complaint is the hit registration and bloom of most weapons. hip fire is more or less impossible to predict after the first shot, and aiming with most sights gives you a blurry half rendered mess of a reticle. Also i swear I've seen my bullet tracers go through enemies heads with no hit registered on multiple occasions.